They’re used to give hospital patients privacy in shared rooms, but bedside curtains may be harbouring dangerous drug-resistant germs for months at a time, according to new research.
For the study, researchers from the University Hospital at the University of Michigan Medical Center took 1,521 samples from the edges of privacy curtains in 625 rooms in six skilled nursing facilities in southeast Michigan. The study’s authors also obtained bacterial culture samples from several sites on each patient’s body.
“Clearly, curtains are something that needs special attention because of the fact that they’re not that easy to clean,” lead researcher Dr. Lona Mody from the University of Michigan Medical Center told CTV News. The team found there was no significant difference between curtain samples taken from private and shared rooms.
One measure that is fairly easy to implement, according to the researchers, is better handwashing by medical staff, patients, and visitors who touch privacy curtains. As more hospital authorities become aware of the risks associated with contaminated bedside curtains, alternatives are being explored.
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